A trainee football coach, who was caught with a stolen monkey in a cage in the back of his car, has been ordered to carry out community service to avoid a jail term.
Paul Murtagh (29) of Birchdale Park, Kinsealy, Co Dublin, and Lighthouse Apartments, East Wall, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty yesterday to possessing "one common South American Marmoset" worth €1,500.
He was caught with the animal at Ravensdale Road, East Wall, Dublin on October 1st last year, hours after it had been taken during a burglary in Co Kildare.
The unemployed man, a father-of-three who is taking part in a football coaching course, also pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court to an additional charge for unlawful possession of a stun gun at Marlborough Place, Dublin 1, on October 27th, 2009.
He had failed to get the stun gun trial thrown out on the grounds of delay after the court heard that gardai had found it difficult to trace him until he came up on their “radar” again when he was arrested over the stolen monkey.
Detective Garda Liam Eviston told Judge Bryan Smyth that as a result of a tip-off he stopped Murtagh’s car and carried out a search. “A monkey was found in a cage in the boot of the car,” Det Gda Eviston said.
The pet monkey had been taken during the course of burglary at the home of a couple, in Co Kildare earlier in the same day.
He agreed with defence counsel Cathal O Braonain that Murtagh, who had 31 prior convictions for motoring offences, was co-operative on arrest.
The animal was returned to its owners, Judge Smyth also heard.
Det Gda Eviston agreed with the defence lawyer that Murtagh had driven to a house with some other people to collect the monkey from a garden.
The officer also agreed that the trainee football coach had denied knowing that the animal had been taken unlawfully and accepted that he had been reckless in relation to his knowledge of whether or not it was stolen.
Garda Laura Conlon told Judge Smyth she had been on patrol at Marlborough Place in the city-centre, when Murtagh pulled up and shouted “anyone buying or selling zimos”.
There had been heroin addicts in the area and his comment, a reference to Zimmovane sleeping tablets, had been made as a joke, the court was told.
Gda Conlon carried out a search and found the stun gun in a school-bag in the car. The court heard that Murtagh had bought the weapon legally during a trip to Santa Ponsa and brought it back to Ireland.
However stun guns are banned here.
The defence said it was a “boys with toys” situation but the judge said “it is a bit more than a toy in this jurisdiction”.
People he did not know well were staying at the house where he had been living at the time and he did not want the stun gun to be stolen so he kept in in his car, the court was told. He did not have it for any sinister intention and the only person he had used it on was himself, the defence lawyer told the court.
Judge Smyth noted that Murtagh had been found suitable for a community sanction.
For possessing the stolen monkey, he ordered him to carry out 80 hours work to avoid a four month jail term. Murtagh was also told he must carry out another 120 hours of community service in lieu of a six month sentence for possessing the stun gun weapon.